International Development Committee Announcement

NEW INQUIRY: HUMANITARIAN AND DEVELOPMENT SITUATION IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

The International Development Committee has decided to begin a short inquiry into the humanitarian and development situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the implications for development of the Annapolis conference. This will follow up the findings of the Committee’s report on Development Assistance and the Occupied Palestinian Territories published in January 2007 (Fourth Report, Session 2006-07, HC 114-I)

The Committee invites short written submissions from individuals and organisations, especially those based in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, on the following:

 The humanitarian situation in Gaza, including access to fuel, food and health services;

 Progress in the Middle East Peace Process since Annapolis and the Paris donor conference;

 Political developments in the OPTs since June 2007;

 Implementation of the Agreement on Movement and Access;

 The impact of restarting direct aid to the Palestinian Authority;

 The effectiveness of the Temporary International Mechanism;

 The role of the Middle East Quartet;

 The response of the UK Government to the changing situation, and in particular the contribution of the Department for International Development

The deadline for submitting written evidence is Friday 14 March 2008.

Evidence submitted should:

 if possible, be provided electronically in MS Word or Rich Text format, either by e-mail to
[email protected] or on a disk. If submitted by e-mail or e-mail attachment, a letter should also be sent validating the e-mail. The letterhead should contain your full postal address and contact details

 begin with a one page summary if it is longer than six pages

 have numbered paragraphs

 avoid the use of colour or expensive-to-print material.

Submissions can also be sent by post to International Development Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London, SW1P 3JA.

Material already published elsewhere should not form the basis of a submission, but may be referred to within written evidence, in which case a hard copy of the published work should be included.

Once submitted, evidence is the property of the Committee. The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to make public the written evidence it receives, by publishing it on the internet, by printing it or by making it available through the Parliamentary Record Office. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure. The Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence. Please bear in mind that Committees is not able to investigate individual cases.

It would be helpful, for Data Protection purposes, if individuals wishing to submit written evidence send their contact details separately in a covering letter. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.